Customer Reviews

Arranging for Solo Guitar: The Queen Titles

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you've found this page, likely you already know something about the amazing Edgar Cruz - one of the most talented guitarists on the planet! Not only does Edgar tackle four very complex and difficult songs, but he also shows you, step by step, how to play them yourself - if you're good enough to do it. (I hope I am). I was fortunate enough to attend one of Cruz's concerts here in AZ last year. Introducing Bohemian Rhapsody, he said, "I'm going to play the bass line, the lead guitar, rythym guitar, the piano, vocals, and back-up vocals - all on the guitar -live" Impossible? Not for Cruz. It's amazing! Got to meet Cruz after the show too. Nice guy. I was hesitant to spend 4o bucks on a single DVD, but just had to do it. No regrets now. What would it cost to take lessons from one of the best in the world? A lot more than 40 bucks. What would you pay to learn how to do 4 of the most difficult magic tricks from a renowned magician? Well, Cruz is a magician on the guitar. I'm voting 10 stars

Not for the weak of heart. I have accepted the fact that these are going to take about a year to learn well. If you are a beginner and want to get this I would say play for about 10 years and then come back and get this. But by all means get it for the inspiration and amazing playing that Edgar does here. So great to see music outside the "standard rep" that is well done and inspiring. Thanks Edgar.

After picking my jaw up off the floor after viewing the beginning of the DVD, I managed to actually apply some of the licks and techniques within the first viewing. The arrangements are amazing to listen to, but even better is the explanantion given on how to get there. Hey, it'll take some practice, but man, it is COOL! The split screen approach is great, showing you simultaneous close-ups of both the right and left hand techniques. It is jam-packed with great instruction including TAB. I highly recommend it!

This is a great video with excellent arrangements. That said, this DVD is not for begginers. Even experienced finger style guitarists will require a decent amount of time and dedication to master the pieces.

I have only been playing the guitar for about 3 months now, and despite my own reluctance to grab this due to what I figured was surely an insane skill level requirement, I was more than pleasantly surprised by many things.

First off, Edgar really is the whole package. Those who have seen him perform (just search for his name on Youtube and have your mind blown many times over) or heard his albums are well aware of him being one of the best guitarists alive. With this DVD, however, he shows a real knack for teaching as he explains many nuances, alternate fingerings, repeats specific parts that typically pose challenges to students, etc. He also explains a little bit about why the arrangement is constructed the way it is, really helping us develop our own abilities in creating arrangements of our own should we so desire in the future.

The DVD itself is excellent in quality and convenience for the student. Hitting the Angle button on your DVD remote will switch between Edgar's playing and on-screen Tab, which is just a wonderful feature that makes learning these difficult pieces so much easier. Each song is split into sections, has Edgar's performance and even a slow performance on 4 of them (only Bohemian was lacking this).

And honestly, as incredible as the other arrangements are (and they are really fantastic), this DVD would be a steal at double the price even if it only had Bohemian Rhapsody, as his arrangement of it is beyond description. If you're like me, you may enjoy riffs and chords here and there, but your interest lies in making your guitar go beyond an instrument, to a device that reproduces an entire band. This is the magic of Edgar's work, and why the tremendous amount of practice it will require to get his material down is more than worth it.

If you like Queen (goodness, what the hell are you doing on this page if you don't?) and want to play the most beautiful and perfectly constructed arrangements of their entire songs for your solo guitar, this is for you. Get it, devote yourself to practicing for some time and possess the ability to play arrangements that will blow anyone away, and that few will ever master.

NOTE: I figure I should be clear for anyone wishing to get this, do NOT purchase this DVD unless you either a)can at least perform barre chords, use all four fingers on your fret hand well, have decent hand strength developed and are at least comfortable and prepared with fingerstyle or b)are serious about developing the aforementioned skills. I have used this DVD to help me develop these skills so with honesty I can say that if you are willing to practice a LOT, you will get more ouf of this DVD than you can imagine. If you are going into this with any notion of just wanting to read a tab and learn a song, I don't think it's for you. Take it seriously and have lots of fun or don't bother-- Edgar's material is far, far too beautiful to be treated like a generic riff to learn in a few minutes.

Edgar Cruz - The Queen Titles: 5/5

My brother who lives in Japan shared a YouTube video with me of Edgar Cruz playing Bohemian Rhapsody and I watched it several times and could not believe how he incorporated all part of every instruments of that song in a single guitar with so much clarity....Edgar Cruz is a guitar virtuoso and his DVD Arranging for Solo Guitar will be a great addition to my ever growing library of guitar instructional books,CD's and DVD's.

Best arrangement ever heard and seen. Excellent notation! Super relaxed instruction. Should be published in Europe too!!!

Absolutely first-rate! With this video, Edgar Cruz will teach you not only Queen's songs, but the whole concept of chord-melody playing, used so well for so long by jazz and classical guitarists. Some of the sheet music and tab (on an enclosed PDF file) does not match precisely what Edgar plays, but working through the differences will help you to learn. Even if you go hungry for a day or two, buy this DVD!

For months I wanted to buy this DVD, but I always thought it was a little expensive. Only four songs are covered. However, the brilliance of the arrangements, and the quality of the explanation and accompanying sheet music make the price almost irrelevant. I have rated it with four stars because of the number of songs covered.
I own the DVD for 3 weeks now and already I have made leaps forward in playing Bohemian Rhapsody. I you really want to learn to play these arrangements? Go for it!

Edgar Cruz is a magnificent guitar player and teacher, this dvd comes with printable tabs and the videos themselves are easy to follow along. Watch the previews on youtube of Edgar Cruz and you'll be convinced to buy this